Mason Laney

Mason Laney helped save a boy from being struck by a moving barge, Morris, Illinois, September 14, 2025. After falling into the Illinois River as their personal watercraft capsized, the boy, 15, and his mother were in the path of a tugboat pushing a fleet of 11 barges approaching them at about 4 m.p.h. The boy and his mother attempted to right the watercraft as the large barge neared but were unsuccessful. Watching from shore more than 200 feet away, Laney, 19, pipefitter, and a male friend were on a nearby beach when they saw the boy and his mother in the water near the overturned watercraft. Seeing the boy and his mother were not moving out of the barge’s way, Laney and the friend boarded another personal watercraft. The friend drove it to them, pulling the watercraft next to their location in the water. Laney, from the rear seat, grasped the boy’s hand and the friend started to drive away, but at a point about 10 feet from the mother, the boy let go and swam back to her. The friend circled the watercraft and returned to the boy. As the barge approached from about 20 feet away, Laney again grasped the boy by his hand, as well as his life jacket, and the friend again drove away toward a riverbank, towing the boy to safety. About two seconds later, the barge struck the overturned watercraft, submerging the mother. She resurfaced minutes later, unresponsive, and was revived at the scene but later died at the hospital. Laney and the boy were not injured.